At Cornell, rape allegations spark outrage, soul-searching over campus culture
ITHACA, New York, Oct 2 - Cornell University student Sophia Riley Sim skipped classes this week, consumed by allegations in a lawsuit that several members of a fraternity raped a young woman in 2024 and troubled by how her university handled the case.
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university → spark → case
"Cornell has failed our community through its lack of accountability, transparency, and failure to address the state of the Cornell student body at this time," Sim, a junior, said at a public hearing on sexual assault organized by Cornell's Student Assembly on Thursday.
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Sim → fail → Thursday
The Ivy League school has defended its handling of the matter, saying it launched a comprehensive investigation and barred the Chi Phi fraternity involved in the alleged assault from campus.
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it → defend → campus
The school said it imposed a range of disciplinary measures, including expulsions.
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it → say → expulsions
It did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
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It → respond → comment
The hearing, held in one of Cornell's historic halls, came days after the allegations became public with the filing of a civil lawsuit and the announcement that a criminal investigation would be reopened.
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investigation → hold → lawsuit
The case has reignited scrutiny of how law enforcement and universities handle sexual assault complaints, with students questioning whether processes are enough to protect them.
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processes → reignite → them
It has also drawn the attention of New York state officials, who have appointed a special prosecutor to investigate.
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who → draw → prosecutor
FEELING UNSAFE
At the Assembly hearing, speakers recounted experiences with sexual assault, broke down in tears and criticized the response of the prestigious university.
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speakers → feel → university
The Student Assembly - which represents Cornell's undergraduate students and can make proposals to the university's bodies or officers - unanimously approved a resolution calling on Cornell administrators to provide a full account of how the investigation was handled.
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investigation → represent → account
It also asked the university to disclose any disciplinary measures imposed on the accused students, and publish annual reports on the outcomes of any future sexual misconduct cases.
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It → ask → cases
Organizers asked that many of the dozens of speakers at the hearing not be identified or recorded.
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many → ask → hearing
One student said she had worked all her life to be accepted to Cornell and now felt that it had not been worth it.
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it → say → Cornell
Several others said they did not feel safe on the 2,300-acre campus in New York's Finger Lakes region.
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they → say → region
Thirty-five percent of undergraduate women reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact involving force or incapacitation since entering Cornell, according to a university survey conducted in 2025 and published on its website.
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percent → report → website
"WE ARE GOING TO FIGHT"
The lawsuit alleges fraternity members supplied the woman with alcohol, marijuana and ketamine before sexually assaulting her after she became incapacitated.
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she → go → her
It also alleges Cornell failed to adequately punish some of the accused students and allowed some to seek reduced penalties by writing essays.
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some → allege → essays
Cornell denied that essays were the only punishment meted out.
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essays → deny → ?
The New York Times, citing internal Cornell documents, said the men all denied any wrongdoing, with some saying the sex was consensual and others denying participation.
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others → cite → participation
Cornell students have scheduled a rally for Monday to call for additional measures to protect victims.
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students → schedule → victims
Jane Wang, a public policy major, said she had reported a sexual assault to the university and that the process caused additional distress.
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process → say → distress
"In the midst of all of my mental, physical, and emotional recovery from the assault, I was also met with an abundance of paperwork, very little instruction on how to navigate it, and no follow up from our office about an outcome," she said.
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she → meet → outcome
The Ivy League school said in a statement on its website that it could not provide full information regarding individual students and disciplinary outcomes because of restrictions imposed by privacy laws.
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it → say → laws
"Our adherence to privacy laws should not be interpreted as indifference to the seriousness of the conduct at issue," the statement said.
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statement → interpret → issue
A handful of other female students told the hearing they had been sexually assaulted on Cornell's campus in the past, without sharing details.
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they → tell → details
Saanya Agarwal, Cornell University's student women's issues representative, said the findings of the 2025 survey on sexual assaults were unacceptable.
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findings → say → assaults
it's something that we're not going to accept," said Agarwal.
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Agarwal → go → that
"We are going to fight."
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We → go → ?
The Aporia
